


you can plan on me

by Spikedluv



Series: Dec 2018 Gift Fic [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Shelter (2007)
Genre: Background Zach/Shaun, Bittersweet Ending, Christmas fic, Future Fic, Gen, M/M, but there's a kinda happy ending, implied Steve/Bucky, there is character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 06:45:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16908117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spikedluv/pseuds/Spikedluv
Summary: Cody wants to send a Christmas card to ‘James’.  But that means he has to admit to his dads that he's been texting James since the summer.





	you can plan on me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [angelskuuipo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelskuuipo/gifts).



> This story is one of my December Gift Fic and was written for Angelskuuipo for the prompt _Shelter/MCU, Steve and Cody exchange holiday cards/gifts._ (Dear Angelskuuipo, I have no idea why my mind went in this direction, but I hope you enjoy it. *hugs*)
> 
> Title taken from the song ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas’.
> 
> Written: December 8, 2018

Cody remembered the first time he’d sent a Christmas card to Steve Rogers. It was the Christmas following the summer they’d run into James, as Steve was calling himself at the time because of the whole thing with the Accords.

Zach had gathered the pens, stamps, address book and labels while Shaun opened the boxes of cards. They had a system wherein Shaun wrote out the envelopes for Zach’s friends and family while Zach filled out those cards. After a break they’d switch roles; Zach would address the envelopes for Shaun’s friends and family while Shaun did those cards. Cody’s job was to label and stamp each envelope and to sort the local from those that had to go in the out-of-town slot at the post office.

“What’s on your mind, Cody?” Shaun said when they finally took a break for homemade peppermint hot chocolate.

“Nothing.” Cody buried his face in the mug and hid behind the peppermint stick.

“We know you better than that,” Zach said, poking Cody in the side and finding a vulnerable spot that made him contort and squeal. “Spill.”

Cody set the mug down, but kept his hands wrapped around it. More to have something to do with them than for the warmth. “Don’t get mad.”

Both Zach and Shaun went on alert. Cody rolled his eyes.

“We won’t get mad,” Shaun said.

“I want to send a Christmas card to James.” The words spilled out of his mouth in a rush and Cody held his breath as he waited to see what their response would be.

Both Zach and Shaun frowned in confusion. Shaun said, “James?” Suddenly both of their faces cleared with understanding. “Ohhh, James.”

Zach and Shaun shared a look and did that silent communicating thing they did before Zach took the lead. “That’s a really wonderful thought, Cody, but James is, uh, not settled, and even if he was we don’t know his address, buddy.”

“We could ask him.”

“We don’t have any way of doing that, Codester,” Shaun said.

“This is the part where you don’t get mad,” Cody said.

~*~

Cody might’ve made a note of the numbers of the burner phones they’d bought for James, and after they’d heard about a ‘rogue Steve Rogers’ stealing something from Stark Industries Cody had sent a text to one of the numbers. Just to make sure James was alright. If James didn’t answer, his plan was to text the other numbers one at a time, but he didn’t have to because James returned the text an hour later.

Cody’s hands shook as he checked his phone (an old one of Zach’s – he couldn’t have a new phone until he turned sixteen).

_I’m fine. Thank you for checking._

Cody had texted back, _stay that way_ , and even though he hadn’t expected a reply he was a little bit disappointed not to receive one.

Cody didn’t text James again until a few weeks later. He was sure he’d failed a math test – he couldn’t tell Zach and Shaun, and Jane was sick of hearing about it. Cody didn’t know where James was (there hadn’t been a sighting mentioned on the news lately), but he got back to Cody almost immediately.

_That sucks._

Cody had to take a moment to contemplate the fact that Steve Rogers had said ‘sucks.’ In the meantime another text came in.

_Why do you think so?_

By the time they’d finished texting James had talked Cody down off the ledge and he felt better. After that Cody texted James once a week even if he had nothing special to say, just to check in and make sure James was still alright. A couple times Cody received a text that just said, _New phone. J._

Cody was glad that James had never asked him whether Zach and Shaun knew they were in contact. Cody would’ve hated to lie to Captain America. But now Cody had to tell them the truth.

~*~

“You’ve secretly been in contact with James?” Zach said, his voice too even.

“Yes.”

“Why?” Shaun said.

“I was worried about him.”

“That’s very commendable,” Zach said.

“But also very dangerous,” Shaun added.

“What do you mean?”

“What if they’d traced one of James’ burner phones back to you?” Shaun said.

“Who would believe that Captain America would be talking to me?”

“Go to your room,” Zach said. “Shaun and I need to talk.”

“Dad . . .”

“Don’t argue, kiddo,” Shaun said.

Cody wanted nothing more than to stay and argue his point, but he knew it wouldn’t do any good right now, and might even cause more harm to his proposal. He went to his room, wishing there was a way he could eavesdrop on his dads without being found out.

Cody bounced a Nerf ball off the wall while he waited to find out how much trouble he was in. He missed the ball completely when it struck him that Zach and Shaun might make him stop texting James altogether.

Cody made noise so his dads didn’t think he was trying to sneak up on them. They both stopped talking and turned their heads to look at him when Cody stopped in the kitchen doorway.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I really didn’t think it was a big deal.”

“Then why did you keep it a secret?” Zach said.

Cody fidgeted. “Because it was my special thing. The first time was just to make sure James was alright after . . . what happened over the summer. I didn’t text him again until I thought I’d really screwed up on a math test.”

Zach and Shaun shared a look. “You didn’t tell us about that,” Zach said.

“I didn’t want you to know.”

“Cody,” Shaun said. “You can tell us anything.”

“I didn’t even tell Jane,” Cody said. “Not about the math test. I told her about that, like a million times, according to her, but about texting James.”

“It must’ve been hard to keep that secret,” Zach said.

Cody shrugged. “Sometimes I wanted to tell you something James said, but mostly it felt nice to have something that was just mine.”

“You understand why we’re concerned, though, right?” Shaun said.

“Yes,” Cody said. “Because you love me and don’t want anything to happen to me.”

Shaun’s face did that thing where he was trying not to cry in front of Cody. He got out of his chair and gave Cody a hug. Shaun kissed the top of Cody’s head and ruffled his hair.

“I’ve got to run an errand.” Shaun glanced back at Zach. “I won’t be long.”

Shaun slipped his feet into his sneakers, grabbed his jacket out of the closet, and left without another word.

“Where’s he going?”

“You’ll find out,” Zach said mysteriously. “In the meantime, we’ve got cards to finish.”

Zach had finished filling out his share of the cards and addressing Shaun’s envelopes, and Cody had labeled and stamped them all by the time Shaun returned. Cody had tried very hard not to think about what Shaun was doing.

“I’m back!” Shaun called when he opened the door, as he did every time.

Cody and Zach shared a look and bit back giggles. They’d composed themselves by the time Shaun padded into the kitchen.

“What are you two doing?”

Zach indicated the recipe book open in front of them. “Deciding on Christmas cookies. And trying to get Cody to narrow down his list for Santa to his top five.”

Cody rolled his eyes. He’d know for years that Santa Claus wasn’t real, but he still got gifts from Santa under the tree, in addition to the ones from his dads (and sometimes Jeanne if she remembered to send them in time).

Cody’s gaze caught on the plastic bag Shaun had brought back with him. “What’s in the bag?”

Shaun reached into the bag and pulled out a plastic and cardboard package. He handed it to Cody, who turned the package around to find a pre-paid phone. Cody immediately burst into tears.

Zach and Shaun both said his name, sounding alarmed. Cody threw himself at Shaun, who caught him in a hug. Zach hurried over and rubbed Cody’s back. “Cody, what’s wrong?” Zach said.

Cody shook his head, but when he tried to speak he just cried harder. Finally the tears slowed down, and, even though his eyes and throat burned, Cody managed to say, “Thank you.” He indicated the phone. “I thought you were gonna make me stop texting James.”

“It was on the table,” Shaun said dryly.

Cody hiccuped and gave Shaun, then Zach, a hug.

“Come on,” Zach said. “You and I will deal with the phone while Shaun finishes his cards.”

Shaun groaned and Cody gave a watery laugh.

~*~

That first year Cody hadn’t received a card from James, but that hadn’t been the point. Every year after that, though, Cody did receive a card. The second year it was signed from ‘James’; the third year (and every other year) from ‘Steve and Bucky’.

Once James, Steve, was no longer a wanted man, he and Bucky (Cody couldn’t believe he was friends with Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes even now) would show up the day after Christmas to visit and bring Cody (and then Cody’s daughter) a gift. (One of the very first gifts came soon after Shaun bought the burner phone, when James found out that Cody had been texting him on his regular phone and without his dads’ permission – an untraceable phone from Wakanda. Wakanda!)

Steve and Bucky were there when Zach passed – arthritis had robbed him of his first passion and complications from a broken hip had taken his life – and when they lost Shaun to grief two years later. They were there when Danielle got married to her girlfriend Shannon, when Jane succumbed to brain cancer, and when Cody lost the love of his life to a heart attack.

Cody was seventy-nine years old now and he could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times Steve and Bucky had missed a Christmas. Cody had thought this would be one of them when he’d heard the news report about invisible robots in Beijing. He was surprised when Danielle came into the living room where Cody sat on the couch, a blanket she’d knitted for him over his legs, watching the lights blink on the tree.

“Dad, you’ve got visitors,” Danielle said softly.

Cody turned his head and saw Steve and Bucky standing in the doorway behind Danielle. “What are you two doing here?” Cody said in a voice that had grown hoarse and faint over the years. He gestured towards the television. “I thought you were in Beijing.”

“You didn’t think invisible robots were gonna keep us from celebrating Christmas with you, did you?” Steve said.

Cody laughed, which initiated a fit of coughing. Steve’s long strides brought him to Cody’s side where he rubbed his back and helped Cody raise the glass of water sitting on the end table to his lips.

Once she made sure Cody was going to be alright, Danielle went off to bring back a tray of cookies and coffee. She placed a small plate on Cody’s lap and set a cup of coffee (liberally diluted with Ensure) on the end table, then left the three of them alone to visit.

Steve and Bucky told Cody all about their encounter with the invisible robots and how life was going in upstate New York. (They’d retired from the Avengers, leaving the heavy lifting to a younger group of superheroes, but remained on-call when they were needed for things like invisible robots.) They’d barely aged ten years in the last sixty-five, but sometimes Cody heard the same weariness in their voices that he felt.

“Did Steve tell you how we met?” Cody said to Bucky, forgetting for a moment that he wasn’t sixteen years old and first meeting Bucky.

“Yes,” Bucky said with a soft smile for Steve. “But I love that story. Tell me again.”

By the time Cody finished telling the story he was feeling very tired. Steve noticed. He and Bucky said their goodbyes. Cody held onto Steve’s hand a moment longer and said, “I’m glad you’re not alone.”

Steve, all six feet, 190 pounds, and 163 years of him, blushed like a school boy, which made Cody chuckle. He patted Steve’s hand and released him.

Danielle escorted Steve and Bucky to the front door and spoke quietly to them before closing the door and returning to the living room to clear away the remains of the cookies (crumbs) and coffee. “How are you feeling, dad?”

“A little tired,” Cody admitted. “But good.”

“Good visit?” Danielle said knowingly.

Cody grinned. He always felt better after a visit from Steve and Bucky. “Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes were just in your house.”

“I know.” Danielle offered her hand in a high-five.

Cody returned the high-five and clasped Danielle’s hand before she could pull away. “I love you, peanut.”

“I love you, too, dad.”

“I think I’m just gonna rest now.

“Okay. I’ll check on you later. We’re having leftovers for supper.”

Cody murmured something in reply and closed his eyes. The darkness behind his eyelids slowly grew lighter until it was as bright as the sun reflecting off the ocean and sand when they’d all gone surfing together. Zach was there, young and vital, the way he’d been before arthritis had wracked his body.

Shaun stood beside Zach, an arm around his waist. “Hey, kiddo.”

“Dads,” Cody said as he was being hugged (and smothered) by both of them.

There were others around them, but Cody couldn’t make out their features. Jane pushed her way through the faceless crowd and called out joyously, “Cody, you’re here!”

Cody smiled and took a pain-free step towards her. “Where else would I be?”

The End


End file.
